A student huddles against the snow on the to PS 29. Mayor Bill de Blasio is being harshly criticized for keeping public schools open.Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - Mayor Bill de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina are catching serious flak from Staten Island public-school parents, elected officials and from the teacher's union for the decision to keep New York City schools open in the teeth of Thursday's storm.

The Advance is being inundated with phone calls from irate parents of public school students saying the city's decision places the borough's children and their families in needless danger.

"They say they have to stay open so the children can be fed and have a place to go, but Staten Island is different, and they don't understand that," said the mother of a South Shore fifth grader.

#sisnow it is horrible in the streets of Staten Island. Can't believe schools are open. 4x4 is not even enough to make it down the street

The grandmother of a student at Paulo Intermediate School in Huguenot said they decided to stay home "because it's very dangerous out there."

But she said that staying home was "extremely upsetting" for her grandson because he has a perfect attendance record.

"Staten Island is not like the rest of the city, and they just don't get that,'' she said.

Said another parent from New Springville, "To send grade-school kids (to school) on a day like today borders on the ridiculous. This is crazy."

Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis (R-East Shore/Brooklyn) said that the city "got it wrong today" and that the decision by Chancellor Farina was "misguided."

"Keeping schools open and expecting children to travel through heavy snow, sleet and ice at the same time the city is urging residents to stay off the road is nonsensical," Ms. Malliotakis said. "Additionally, when making future decisions on school closures, the city should take into account the plight of the outer boroughs that have less transit options and many secondary and tertiary roads that take much longer to be plowed during a heavy snowfall as today's."

Taking to Facebook, State Sen. Andrew Lanza (R-Staten Island) said parents were right to be fuming about the decision.

"Many of you have been commenting that schools should be closed today," Lanza writes. "You're right. The danger associated with requiring students to navigate this storm to get to school far outweighs the benefit of keeping school open. Clearly conditions are dangerous and roads around schools are barely passable. Coupled with the low visibility at the precise time when children are arriving, puts them in unnecessary danger. Opening schools today, with conditions like this, is just wrong. Schools are supposed to be about educating our children, without putting their safety at risk negligently."

One poster to Lanza's page, James Farley, wrote, "Just risked my life to get to work and I have five students."

Another, Lori Ann Russo, wrote, "My new dorp high school junior is watching the Olympics at school!! I'm so sorry I decided to send him"

United Federation of Teachers president Michael Mulgrew, an Oakwood resident, slammed the decision in a statement that was reported by Channel 7 News.

"I understand the desire to keep schools open," he said. "The only thing that trumps that is safety. Having students, parents and staff traveling in these conditions was unwarranted. It was a mistake to open schools today."

Speaking at a Panel for Educational Policy meeting on Staten Island on Wednesday night, the chancellor said she bases her decision on whether to close schools on a number of factors, including constant weather updates, and updates from city agencies, including the Sanitation Department and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, about road conditions and mass transit.

"School closings are not something we take lightly," she said.

In a statement on Wednesday night, before the storm struck, de Blasio had advised New Yorkers to stay off the roads on Thursday.

"Because of its timing and intensity, this storm is going to make both the morning and evening rush hours extremely difficult," he said. "If you do not need to drive, you will help yourself and everyone else by staying off the roads. Take mass transit and leave extra time - it will be slow-going for everyone tomorrow."